Star Wars VIII: Stand of the Republic

30: Jedi Master

A scream of tearing metal reached Finn's ears, and he closed his eyes in the expectation of death. He heard an explosion as his ship slammed into the artillery cannon, destroying both in a ground shaking detonation. Wondering why he was still alive to hear it, Finn cautiously opened his eyes and looked around. His cockpit had been torn from his craft and was sailing through the air a foot above the ground. It moved at tremendous speed away from the battle and back toward the base. When it slowed to a stop, the cockpit module came to rest in front of a figure completely concealed within the folds of a crimson cloak and hood.

The figure gestured with one hand, and the canopy of the cockpit ripped free and landed a short distance away. The figure tossed back the hood with one hand of metal and one of flesh. The bearded face revealed was unfamiliar to Finn, but the man had a wise and calm nature about him.

"I'm Luke Skywalker," the man told Finn, holding out his living hand to him. "I'm here to help you."

As Finn accepted help out of the severed remains of the cockpit, he noticed the person standing beside Luke.

"Rey!" Finn shouted. All thoughts of the Jedi were forgotten as he threw his arms around her. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."

"I'm so glad you're alive," Rey cried happily, hugging her friend tightly.

The touching scene was viewed from a different perspective aboard Kylo Ren's command shuttle. Hovering over the battle, the shuttle's great wings were spread wide like a bird of prey about to dive toward its prey.

"The Jedi has come out of hiding. He should've stayed gone," General Hux commented with a murderous smile. Switching on the comm system, he broadcast to the walkers. "All units, target the Jedi and destroy him."

Kylo Ren looked silently at Hux before turning his helmet back toward the front window to watch the results.

Luke moved with a blur of speed, reaching into his robes, pulling out two lightsabers with each hand from his belt and throwing them out into the air. Putting his hands together, fingertip to fingertip and flesh against metal, Luke called upon the Force. The four lightsabers ignited in humming blades of vivid green energy. Changing position at Luke's command of the Force, the weapons turned and spun, becoming a cocoon around Luke, Finn, and Rey.

Red lasers poured out from the First Order lines, but none of it reached past the flurry of spinning lightsabers. Many of the shots were reflected back, peppering the walkers with heavy fire and blasting holes in their armored hulls.

"Cease fire, General," Kylo advised. "He's tearing them to pieces."

"Hold fire," Hux commanded.

The lasers of the walkers ceased. The shots which had missed or been deflected had kicked up clouds of red dust, but as the dust settled, the glow of the lightsabers became visible first before Luke, Finn, and Rey were revealed unharmed.

Opening his eyes, Luke threw out his hands out wide as if to embrace the First Order. His released lightsabers switched off and dropped into the salt at his feet. Bringing his hands back together, Luke pulled on the legs of the walkers. The legs of the walkers were swept out from under them, and each lost their balance and collapsed, falling into the one beside it in a chain effect until all of the massive machines were laying on their sides.

Luke shed the crimson robe, revealing an outfit of all black, stark in contrast to the white salt and red crystals of the terrain. Taking a step forward in his shiny black boots, Luke extended a hand, summoning one of his lightsabers back to his hand, but his gaze was fixed on Kylo's command ship hovering above.

"Deploy the ground forces," Kylo ordered. "I'll handle Skywalker."

Hux stared in disbelief for only a moment before giving a nod to the pilot. The command shuttle glided down smoothly to land only a short distance from where the Jedi waited. Military transports also touched down and unloaded squad after squad of stormtroopers. The soldiers rushed forward into combat lines, blending together into a single, concentrated mass of warriors.

"Rey," Luke said. "My old lightsaber I gave you on the flight here. You'll need it now."

"Finn," Rey told him as she took out her weapon. "You better get back to the base."

"Be careful," Finn replied, giving her hand a small squeeze before running toward the Republic forces.

Kylo readied his lightsaber as he marched down the ramp to face his former master.

"It's been awhile, Ben," Luke offered in greeting. "We don't have to fight."

"Yes, we do," Kylo denied. "You don't know his power. He can't be stopped."

"Then, why am I still alive?" Luke questioned. "Snoke has limits. He's not all powerful."

"Powerful enough," Kylo whispered. His helmet bowed slightly. "I don't have a choice."

Kylo's overcharged lightsaber cracked loudly as it activated, excess energy spewing from the vents near the grip and giving the appearance of a crosspiece. Humming with power, the lightsaber changed pitch as it swung toward Luke's head. Green and red energy met with a crash of conflicting fields of energy as Luke brought his own weapon to block.

Stormtroopers charged toward the base, but as they approached, a pod shaped transport swung around the mountainside low to the ground. Hatches opened on its hull and dozens of warriors jumped down, landing easily before igniting lightsabers. Luke's Jedi students surged toward the First Order and plunged through their ranks, cutting down all opposition.

Rey switched on the blue lightsaber and joined the fight against Kylo. She made an initial series of strikes designed to test his defenses without leaving herself vulnerable to a counterattack. At best, she hoped to be a distraction as she doubted her ability to defeat Kylo after their last encounter. She was relying on Luke to be the deciding factor in the fight. Her hopes were dashed when Kylo pulled out the lightsaber he'd taken from Snoke and switched it on, fighting with a lightsaber in each hand to combat both Luke and Rey at the same time.

Luke didn't press the attack against Kylo, deflecting or blocking all incoming swings and thrusts without retaliating. He occasionally used the Force to seize Kylo's arm to prevent a blow against Rey. Once, Luke dragged Rey out of the way with the Force before Kylo's blade split the air where she'd been standing a moment before.

Kylo's fury drove him onward, fueling his dark side power. Luke remained calm, but Rey was battling her fear as much as her enemy as she'd come close to death several times and had only been spared by the actions of Luke. 

Salt kicked up around their boots as they advanced or dodged. Lighstabers carved burning scars into the crystalline landscape.  Abruptly, Kylo halted his assault and took a step back, moving temporarily out of range.

"Why aren't you trying?" Kylo demanded. "You have to attack to win?"

"Do I?" Luke asked in return. His voice and his stance were reserved as if this had been nothing more than a training exercise. "I told you once before anger can blind you to what is right in front of you."

Looking around, Kylo saw his forces being decimated by the Jedi, and he realized the battle was turning against the First Order. Despite their larger numbers of fighters in the sky, Kylo's troops were not going to be able to win the ground assault.

"There are other ways to win," Luke told him.

"You didn't intended to kill me," Kylo reasoned.

"Never," Luke confirmed.